I love sky lighting in a log home. Some owners do not want to spend the money on them. While not cheap, they add a whole new dimension to your home. Have you ever complained about an electric bill? Are some of your rooms darker than you would like them to be? Then let me explain why I changed my attitude about sky lighting in handcrafted log homes a few years ago.

The Why of Skylights In a Log Home

Log homes are built of solid logs. We all know that, right? The logs serve as the finished interior and exterior of the home. No one, unless they don’t know anything about log homes, installs drywall over the logs or paints the logs. Logs are supposed to stay natural looking. Paint can actually ruin logs because paint does not allow the logs to ‘breathe’. So the first factor to remember in your handcrafted log home is logs are brown and will not naturally reflect the light like a white wall will. A sky light allows more sunlight to spill into a room. Also the orientation of the light is important. Windows allow rays to shine in from the side while sky lighting brings the rays in from directly overhead.

Where You Find Sky Lighting In a Log Cabin

I have sky lighting in both of my bathrooms, in the center of the hallway, and in the open loft. The hallway is an interesting space because there is no outside natural light. Bathrooms are an area where natural lighting is the best for putting on makeup. Also during day hours the bathroom bulbs do not even need to be turned on. Our loft does not have any dormers or gable windows. The skylight allows natural light to still illuminate this room. Also for the loft we installed a vented, or opening, skylight. Now on hot summer days we can reduce the amount of time we run the central air by opening the skylight. Because the open skylight allows much of the hot air to pass out of our cabin and not get trapped high in the cathedral ceilings.

Areas I Would Like To Add Skylights

Areas of my log cabin home where I would like to incorporate skylights are in my great room and master bedroom. I think I would love to lay in bed and watch the clouds roll by. A few times when I ‘camped’ in our loft with the kids I loved to lay there and see the constellations bright against the black velvet Montana sky.

Over all I think skylights save money, add charm, and over all enhance handcrafted log home.

By Sue Lemmon Cowboy Log Homes

The Smartest Way to Use Sky Lighting in Handcrafted Log Homes is a post from: Solar Lighting

When you set things up the right way, you can get a lot out of your outdoor string lights. You can have a lot of fun with patio string lights as well.  The nice thing about lights is they are really useful. The not so nice thing is that if they are set up wrong, you will run into a lot of problems that you wouldn’t want to run into. When you are careful, you will have lights that are very functional. When you aren’t sure what to do with them, you will run into all kinds of problems. The UL rating on a light can tell you what that specific light’s ability to handle nature is. A light with a bad UL rating is not a good thing for you.

If you have a light with a high UL rating, it will be able to stand up to all kinds of problems. If it has a bad UL rating, you might be better off using it only indoors, or possibly using it only in very very good days. Whatever your problem is, you will want to be careful with what you set up. when you set things up the right way, your lights can be really useful. When you set things up the wrong way, you can run into all kinds of problems. That is why it is important that you set things up the right way. Getting things working is always a good idea.

Good lighting fixtures will work well with you. If you aren’t careful, you can run into all kinds of problems. If you are careful, you will be able to get a lot done. A good UL rating will tell you whether or not you have a light that is suitable for outside. If it isn’t, then you may want to look into getting another light, and that can be tricky.

Use Lights With Good UL Ratings is a post from: Solar Lighting

LED MR16 lamps are common substitutions halogens lamps both equally in residential and also commercial enterprise utilization. The valid reason for their worldwide recognition is that the unique, halogen MR16 lights were normally utilized in households, and LEDs can quickly substitute a great number of them. At the same time, LEDs have significantly better features and also a lot of benefits, contrasted to their halogen version.

The best way to grasp and also appreciate the advantageous abilities of the LED substitutions, we have to look at the halogen MR16 lights in short. The halogen MR16 light bulb has a reflecting surface: the innermost portion of the light is made up of pressed glass or aluminium in more affordable versions. The glass surface is frequently under pressure, which makes it so easy to blow up. The reflecting surface manages both the trend as well as the disperse of the illumination, increasing the brightness of the lamp fixture. The bulb is obtainable with a variety of beam angles of light right from narrow degrees of 10-to-60, nevertheless, the normally utilized spotlight is approximately 45 degrees. The colour temperature of the halogen MR16 is really warm, yellowish illumination, and is without difficulty adjusted with dimming.

The foremost disadvantages of the halogen light is that they have a reduced conversion rate of power, switching lots of it to heat rather than of brightness. So, they have a higher energy usage along with so much heat given off, hazardous not merely to lay a hand on but also to be positioned near to textiles or even wood for the period of operation. Halogen illuminations are factors of fire threat in almost any home, and should be built and also operated with good care. The halogen lamp fixture gives out a significant amount of ultraviolet light hazardous to human health, and is also acutely sensitive to shakes and also shock. Both these troubles are somewhat solved with a glass cover which filters the majority of the ultraviolet light and perhaps performs as an explosion shield.

LED MR16 spotlights, however, do not take a blow from the vast majority of the listed above disadvantages. Though, LED lamps do not have the reflective inner surface, they are called MR spots for the reason that they are substitutions of the early reflectors. Beam angle, which is in the same way varied with LED lights too, is usually managed within the optics of the diode. Colour temperature is far more varied when compared with halogen lights. Cooler white colour temperatures is often closer to natural light, and will not colour the room yellowish. Likewise, coloured versions of MR16 LED lights are on the market.

LED lamps altogether have the characteristics of cool running, eco-friendly type, longer life duration (normally around 30 000 – 50 000 hours), and higher power LEDs can function possibly even 24/7. LEDs are not really sensitive to shakes or shocks, and even operate at low temperature too. The most noticeable positive aspect of LEDs is their extremely inexpensive consumption of power. Since LEDs switch 90% of power to light, they give off considerably less heat, and mean no or hardly any fire hazard in homes. LED lamps are available too with GU5.3 for lower voltage and also GU10 for mains fittings.

For LEDs performing at reduced voltage, the operating power source has an important significance. Electronic transformers applied for halogens are often unsuitable for running LEDs for two main reasons. Several transformers need a minimum voltage to get started operating, that is not drawn by LEDs using just a small part of the power in comparison with halogens. The further reason is actually more essential from the viewpoint of LEDs, considering the fact that electronic transformers can damage the LED lamps. Halogens tend not to require stabilized current, while LEDs are extra-sensitive to alterations in voltage or current. If you are swapping your halogen MR16 lights, it is better to purchase LED suitable transformers as well to ensure their longevity.

The Benefits Of LED MR16 Spot Illumination is a post from: Solar Lighting

Pool covers or what is commonly referred to as pool blankets are cost saving measures on your pool heating costs. The high cost of pool heating has become a burden to most pool owner all across America. In Miami alone, the price ranges from $1335-$2250 with a difference of 4 degrees in its temperature, and that is just for the heating process, a cover for to sustain the heat is from $260-$500. Add to it the fact that the Miami Heat is all year round.

Pool covers has become a necessity for most pool owners. It has been compared to like having a house without the ceiling on top of you. Pool covers have different classes; you have the winter pool covers, liquid pool covers and solar pool cover. A winter pool cover is heavy- duty and custom made to last the buffing torments of the winter season, it keeps out leaves and falling debris. It reduces evaporation and helps you save on water. A liquid pool cover on the other hand, keeps the energy at a lower cost as it traps heat and reduce evaporation by 50%. A solar pool cover saves both heat and energy and reduces evaporation and decreases nightly temperature loss. The pool covers come in round, oval, square, and outline. They are available in different lengths and custom made sizes.

Solar pool covers, have the ability to absorb thermal energy and maintain them, allowing for the containment of maximum heat of the blanket. This will give you a warmer pool, lesser pool heating expenses and energy conservation. Solar pool covers, have become the most convenient and efficient means to decrease the loss of heat, water evaporation and avoidance of chemical use in maintaining your pools. Solar pool covers are used in combination with all heating process. It ensure a cleaner, more temperate and more fun filled pool.

Solar pool covers are protective gears to keep your pools functional and dirt free all year round. They are made up of durable resin, with thousands of tiny bubbles aimed to capture and diffuse thermal heat to your pool. A solar pool cover cuts down 95% of water evaporation, and these is an n efficient method of saving on scheduled pool heating.

The decision on how warm a pool is dependent on the owner. The typical temperature is from 78-82 degrees, the determined heat range that is considered the appropriate temperature for all. The need to maintain pool temperature is relative to the need of the body to maintain temperateness while inside the water. The warmer the pool is the lesser heat is diffused by your body and this will help control your body temperature.

Solar pool cover is your all time solution to your pool heating expenses and heat preservation. There are thousands of products are out there in the market. You can find cheap deals depending on the material specifications but it is always wise to settle for the solar pool cover that will give you optimum cost saving and energy saving results.

The Solar Pool Cover Advantage is a post from: Solar Lighting

New solar tech- No water required
Since its inception, solar power has been to some extent limited by the fact that it requires water. Now somebody has come up with a much less controversial and certainly renewable resource to do the same job as the water – compressed air. Without getting too technical, water in solar power systems operates in much the same way as a steam engine. When heated, the water expands (into steam) and drives a turbine. So does compressed air. If you’re an electrician, there’s another benefit – You don’t have water and electricity in the same power system.

The water problem
One of the major issues with using water to power turbines is that some of the best places on Earth to generate solar power are also waterless areas. Add to this situation the increasing scarcity and demands on water from growing urban areas, and you can see the problems.

A further issue is the potential expense of using large amounts of water in major solar power systems. The water and its related infrastructure could impose prohibitive costs and burdens on available resources in many parts of the world. It would also be rather ironic if a renewable energy resource were to blame the cause of the depletion of other essential natural resources. One of the immutable basic principles of renewable energy is that it must be appropriately designed to avoid situations like that, and that’s where compressed air comes into the picture.

Compressed air solar power
Compressed air technology is used in conventional power systems, and it is a proven technology. Compressed air solar power is a non-photovoltaic energy system. Instead, it uses mirrors to heat compressed air. The problem has been adapting it to work with solar power, and that is now being done by Australia’s CSIRO at a trial plant at Mayfield West in outback Australia. The new plan uses 4000 m² of mirrors focusing the Sun’s heat onto a tower containing compressed air. The air is heated to 900°C and powers a turbine.

It is estimated that the plant will recover its energy offsets in two years, meaning the full energy cost and carbon cost of its assembly and construction. It’s also estimated that the plant, even operating at a low energy efficiency, will be able to power 200 homes.

This is only a pilot program, but it has clear and immediate future applications particularly in Australia, where water usage and resources are sensitive subjects all the time due to regular droughts, water storage evaporation and very low humidity. Australia recently had the worst drought in recorded history, and any energy system which can be used in these conditions is particularly appropriate. The fact is that traditional energy systems also use a lot of water, and water savings could be immense using the new compressed air solar technology.

The energy costs of compressed air technology are quite low. Compressed air is quite similar to hydraulic systems insofar as it requires pressure to perform mechanical operations. The difference is that compressed air systems are extremely simple and cheap to operate. Compressed air based solar electrical services could be set up anywhere on Earth, in any economic environment without creating the major cost overheads typical of traditional power generation systems.

New solar tech- No water required is a post from: Solar Lighting

In a perfect world, everyone, regardless of location, could have access to affordable, clean, renewable energy. In reality, more than 2.5 billion people across the globe do not have access to any power source at all. Most of these individuals rely on kerosene or other fossil fuels for light. Burning these fossil fuels creates large amounts of toxic fumes as well as high levels of greenhouse gases. Just one kerosene lamp, which is the most common source of light in third world countries and developing nations, produces about one ton of carbon emissions over a seven-year period. Obviously, an alternative, cleaner source of energy is necessary, and solar lighting or solar power is the answer!

Solar lighting and solar power is helping third world countries is a post from: Solar Lighting

Solar powered homes are finally becoming more mainstream these days. This is great for the planet and for a family’s electric bill. Solar power homes can run the same appliances and lights as a regular electric powered home. Experts estimate a solar power home can save anywhere from 50-75% on your current electric bill.

You can convert your existing home to solar power by yourself if you want. Depending on the size of your home and how much electric you use on an average day, will determine what kind of system you will want to install. If you want to just start out with a couple of solar panels, you can easily buy those at your local department store.

You will need to purchase a solar power containment systems, often called your “battery” or “cells”. These cells are hooked up to the solar panels, and collect and store the electricity generated from the sun. These cells store the electricity until it is needed. When it is dark or really cloudy your cells can be charged with a generator if needed. You may have enough stored electricity that you may not need to use a generator at all. These systems are not as expensive as many people perceive them to be.

They are not overly complicated, and can be installed by an amateur or a professional. It is probably best to have a professional installer convert your home to solar power. A typical solar panel costs around $1500.00. Of course there are more expensive ones, that will offer more output, but you would be surprise how much electricity is wasted in our everyday lives. A solar powered home will help you see how much electricity you actually need to use.

With the push from worldwide governments, solar equipment is becoming more readily available. Prices are dropping more and more as China has taken the lead in mass producing solar equipment. With a competitive market on the horizon, solar power homes are going to be much easier and cheaper to build.

Some electric companies, offer to buy back electric that you do not need. Talk about really paying for itself! A solar powered home does not need to look any different than a traditional home. Panels placed on the roof or in a nearby area are not an eyesore.

Switching to solar energy now, can also give you a tax break. There are several government rebates that will help offset the cost of switching to solar energy. Now is the perfect time to make an investment in your home and your family’s future.

Solar Power for Homes is the Future of Homebuilding is a post from: Solar Lighting

Solar chargers are one of those cool things that we will continue to learn about and see advance as this green energy revolution continues. Solar chargers can of course cut down on your electric bill because the sun itself does not cost money to be able to use within the context of a phone charger. There is a Chinese company that makes a solar charger called eva esa which can use solar power to charge your cellphone, radio and flashlights among other items. This is cool when a solar charger is very adaptable to whatever the situation may be. You can buy these chargers online if you do enough searching.

Eva esa makes several different types of solar chargers. Most of their models vary in output voltage, overall size and how much it takes to charge. For example the eva esa V 5.0/6.0 actually adapts to different types of cellphones and usually only takes an hour to recharge. The frustrating thing about eva esa chargers is that they are hard to find within North American markets. They tend to be more accessible within Asian and European markets, but can indeed be exported to North America. Another one of the benefits of most of these solar chargers is that they are not too bulky and thus can fit in a backpack or secure handbag as long as the charger is well protected.

You can buy a universal solo charger for your phone made by Solio. These items are selling on Amazon.com for around eighty five dollars. You are getting a real bargain in this situation if you look at the sleek nature and nice color of these chargers. Solio makes some other types of chargers that aren’t as nice looking and tend to be bulkier. Also according to customer reviews they aren’t as reliable as their more classic model. The solar chargers are not always adaptable to every situation, but sometimes this can be a good thing.

This is true because sometimes people simply ask their chargers to do too much and to work too quickly. When you ask too much of them this means they can break down. There aren’t many places that can repair a solar phone charger, but you will be offered the opportunity to exchange it for another charger. We do need more options out there when it comes to repairing solar chargers and regular cellphone chargers for that matter.

Solar Chargers is a post from: Solar Lighting

Northeast Ohio, specifically Youngstown, Ohio, has solar lighting being accessed in Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse and in what they call Green Space Project Homes. Green Space Homes constructed traditional homes with energy efficient technology. Mr. Dave Quinlan, a certified geothermal installer held class at one of the homes in 2007 to show how these systems work. His system was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and passed Energy Star Certification and Indoor Air Quality Standards.

One of the houses that were constructed using geothermal materials and solar lighting is The Shades of Green Residence. Methods planned to protect the natural balance of lake and residence called LEED, leadership in energy and environmental design, whose design principles were joined with energy saving framing methods, radiant heat, energy controlling wall systems, thermal mass heater and Loewlyn windows and solar lighting. A residence built to lower fuel bills and decrease carbon emissions, The Carradine Residence, built in a 10kWAbundant Renewable Energy wind turbine.
The Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse was built using LEED design and energy saving technology by the General Services Administration. The LEED certification was granted by the U.S. Green Building Council for a building on a city brownfield location. Using LEED certification requirements, The General Services Administration Construction Excellence Program also used solar lighting, reflective heating and a concrete parking lot to resist heat buildup effect.
LEED certification is a global standard for predicting a building’s long term existence. In the United States it is sponsored by the United States Green Building Council based in Washington D.C. as a non-profit building association. Builders who agree to work for LEED certification have third party access to a vigorous commission whose mission is to build structures that produce the least possible negative impact on the environment. This project to encouage builders to plan and execute energy saving projects is also under the guidance of the National Resources Defense Council.
The city of Youngstown has many talented and innovative builders. They hoped that by getting LEED certification on these Green Homes following the LEED design of the Federal Building would encourage media coverage and allow the economy of Youngstown, Ohio, to profit through increased building contracts.
All of the homes that were built following LEED certification principles are wonderful structures that look to neighbors and passer by viewers as tradional homes. Only an expert in solar lighting and energy saving measures would recognize the eco- friendly and preserving technology that was built-in to these new houses.

Lighting up the Community with Solar is a post from: Solar Lighting

They are aluminum frames containing rows of solar cells (batteries) which are made of semiconductor material — usually silicon (the second most common element on this planet). Solar cells collect heat from the sun and convert it into energy. Technically this process is called the photovoltaic effect, and a solar panel is a photovoltaic array. Up until recently, because each solar cell can only collect a certain amount of energy at a time, it has been necessary to have many solar cells in a large panel array. The International Space Station uses gigantic solar panels; so does the Hubble Telescope and the probes we have sent out to explore other planets. More recently, rechargeable batteries and LED lights have made it possible to use much smaller panels. “Solar shingles” are becoming available, although they are more expensive than ordinary panels.

There a number of benefits to installing solar lighting for your home.  Starting with the outdoors which is probably one of the easiest ways to start.  Replacing landscaping lighting in and around the yard is a rewarding experience and a money saver too.  These days their are many types of outdoor solar lighting options available.  From solar tiki torches to solar pond lights, and the more common solar post lights.  Outdoor solar lighting can even provide a certain amount of security, since the lights come no even when your not at home.

Solar security lighting is also now available in the form of a motion sensored flood light.  When shopping for solar security lighting make sure you find the type with 10 to 100 LEDs, or 4 to 5 for the fluorescent bulb type.  This will ensure that the lights will be bright enough for security purposes.  Normal accent solar lighting uses only 1 to 3 LEDs.

The advantages of solar lights are many.  Renewable energy source from the sun, no emissions, lowers your energy cost, easy of installation, and low maintenance are just a few of the benefits of solar lighting.

More exposure in the media and in home improvement stores is the answer to normalizing alternative energy. Until recently, solar lighting was dismissed as a fad. Even some very knowledgeable scientists did not take seriously the idea that human use of fossil fuels could make a difference, citing periods of natural global warming in the past. However, it is now generally acknowledged that the need to “go green” is a reality, for no other reason than to cease depending on foreign oil. As solar lighting becomes more efficient and affordable, it will gradually cease to seem outlandish and will become part of the consciousness of Middle America.

The Benefits of installing Solar Lighting is a post from: Solar Lighting